Welcome to the land of the Maple Leaf — and B.C. bud.

Like exiled All-Pro running back Ricky Williams and others before him, defensive end Frank Alexander is headed to a forced sabbatical in Canada because of marijuana use — yet he’s embracing the move.

“It really is one of those blessed opportunities,” says Alexander, formerly with the Carolina Panthers. “God was in the plan to make it happen. I really appreciate the B.C. Lions for giving me the opportunity.”

The Lions should feel just as blessed.

Alexander was a terror in college (Oklahoma), dominating in big games against Big 12 opponents such as Texas and Baylor. He was claimed by the Panthers in the fourth round, in the same 2012 draft that netted Carolina an NFL rookie of the year and defensive player of the year in linebacker Luke Kuechly and first-team All-Pro cornerback Josh Norman.

“We’ve been tracking him for a while, probably talking with him for the last year-and-a-half and letting him know about the (CFL) option” says Ryan Rigmaiden, the Lions’ director of U.S. Scouting.

“You’re always looking for pass rushers, and to find a pass rusher with Frank’s ability is hard to do. He’s an extremely exciting signing. We feel he can come in and be a force right away. Certainly, his resume probably is more attractive than any free agent we’ve signed. He’s been an active NFL player. To find that kind of NFL experience, in our business, is pretty rare.”

Suspended three times under the NFL’s rigid substance-abuse policy, the 6-4, 270-pound Alexander admits to feeling liberated in moving to three-down territory.

After a pair of suspensions cost him four and 10 games — and $470,000 US in salary — with the Panthers, the Louisiana native was banned for a year for a third marijuana violation and was out of football all last season. He has spent time in rehab, vowed to the Panthers that he would change, but the pattern stayed the same.

“Well, it’s like this,” Alexander says. “The NFL is a business, and they conduct their business the way they want to. Anybody who’s not on the same page they’re on, they’re going to fire you. That’s the NFL rule: Do what they do.”

Indeed, the NFL and CFL do send out different smoke signals.

Against a rising tide of social change, the NFL remains adamant that marijuana is a no-no, even though players increasingly turn to cannabis as a pain reliever, stress reducer or recreational doobie.

The high-profile Williams — the Miami Dolphins’ star running back essentially on loan to the Toronto Argonauts — ended up in Canada for the 2006 season after failing the league’s substance abuse policy multiple times.

Last year, the retired player, and marijuana legalization advocate, told Sports Illustrated he believes 60 to 70 per cent of NFL players smoke weed, as a safer alternative to league-prescribed opioids such as Toradol and Vicodin. Those are the same anti-inflammatories and painkillers found in the medicine chests of all nine CFL teams.

Whether kickoff time is high time in Canada, who really knows how many CFL players are self-medicating, and to what extent?

But more relaxed attitudes and policy to the rare air up there have allowed potentially active NFL roster players such as Alexander and Lions’ nickel back Louchiez Purifoy, another tripped up by grass, to be recruited by CFL teams.

“We typically suggest marijuana be taken off the banned list, although we’re not condoning its use professionally,” says Paul Melia, president and CEO of CCES (Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport), which oversees drug testing in the country.

“The CFL didn’t argue to put it on the list because it’s not performance-enhancing. Marijuana does affect motor coordination skills, though, and you see increasing evidence of its use to mask pain and injury. That’s something we need to monitor closely.

“Anything that allows a player to play through injury is not a good thing.”

Rigmaiden, who lives in Pinehurst, N.C., a two-hour drive from Alexander’s home in Charlotte, understands that some people may perceive character issues are coming north with the former Panther, but he believes that’s not the case here.

“Players like Frank have a lot of questions about them,” Rigmaiden admits. “I’ve visited his home. I’ve talked with Frank and his parents. We’ve talked to the Panthers’ coaching staff. Everybody can vouch for this kid. As a person, he sure is likable.

“I think Frank will tell you he’s made several mistakes — and he can’t do that anymore. Wally (GM Buono) and I felt comfortable, the way we looked into his background, about going ahead and signing him.”

On the subject of medicinal marijuana, Alexander is all for it.

His mother, Juanita, underwent surgery three years ago for breast cancer, had a mass removed, and her son believes it’s helped in the recovery. Studies have shown that compounds in cannabis can inhibit breast cancer cells from metastasizing and spreading throughout the body.

“She’s doing well, very good,” Alexander says. “But I’m not an advocate for marijuana or an advocate against it. I don’t really want to get into the discussion.

“I want to talk about football. And there’s a lot of football left in me. I just turned 27. I’m not looking for handouts or sympathy. I’m just excited and thankful to get to play again, to go to another place I’ve never been before.”

In Canada, Alexander wants to show he’s a young man of substance, in a different way.

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